Apple iPhone 16e: Everything Essential You Need to Know

Apple iPhone 16e is now available in the Philippines

The iPhone 16e has officially landed in the Philippines. Beyond the Box recently held an midnight launch at two locations – Uptown Bonifacio and Robinsons Ermita. We were at Uptown Bonifacio to witness the launch. We also got to see buyer 001 who got her iPhone 16e at exactly 12:01AM.

The iPhone 16e was globally launched by Apple 3 weeks ago. Since its launch, it has met mixed reviews mainly due to its pricing and features. In this article, we will talk about everything you need to know about the iPhone 16e. We will also show you how it stacks up against its siblings, the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 15 Pro. In the end, we’ll give our initial thoughts if it’s a good buy or not.

Design and Build

The iPhone 16e sports a sleek aluminum design with a Ceramic Shield front and a glass back, similar to its counterparts. It’s available in three storage options: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, with a weight of 167g, making it lighter than the iPhone 16 at 170g. The dimensions of the iPhone 16e are 5.78 by 2.82 by 0.31 inches, which is slightly different from the iPhone 16’s dimensions.

The overall design of the iPhone 16e is essentially a return to its “old” form. The major addition, especially coming from previous iPhone SE is the Action Button. There is no camera control button this time around when compared directly to the base model of the iPhone 16. There is also no Magsafe compatibility although it supports wireless charging up to 7.5W.

Display

The iPhone 16e features a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels at 460 ppi. It supports HDR, True Tone, Wide color (P3), and Haptic Touch, offering a vibrant and responsive viewing experience. However, unlike the iPhone 16, it does not have the Dynamic Island feature.

Apple also decided to drop the total brightness to 1,200 nits, which is 800 tad lower than the current iPhone 16. While this may not impact total quality, it can pose a bit of challenge to view contents on its display under direct sunlight when compared to the iPhone 16.

Performance

Under the hood, the iPhone 16e is powered by the A18 chip, which includes a 6-core CPU (2 performance and 4 efficiency cores), a 4-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. This setup ensures fast, smooth performance, making it capable of handling both everyday tasks and more intensive applications with ease.

Take note that Apple decided to lessen the core count of its GPU to 4 from the original configuration of 5 core GPU counts of the A18. So, if you’re going to use this mainly to play iOS games, take note of the slight drop in graphics performance. The impact is not going to be as much though especially if you’re playing mobile games that do not require too much power and performance requirements.

I will cover performance benchmarks in our full review.

Camera

The iPhone 16e comes with a 48MP f/1.6 single camera system, which includes PDAF and OIS for sharp, detailed photos. It also features a 2x Telephoto lens, providing optical zoom capabilities. This setup is a step down from the iPhone 16’s triple-camera system but still offers impressive photography features in my initial impressions.

It is worth noting that the iPhone 16e’s main camera does not offer wide angle option when taking photo as you’re limited to a single camera.

I, personally, am very interested to pit this against another compact smartphone, Xiaomi 15. Some consumers still prefer photos shot on iPhone than Android.

Here are some sample photos.

Connectivity and Battery Life

The iPhone 16e introduces Apple’s first in-house designed modem, the C1, which is claimed to be the most energy-efficient modem in any iPhone, boasting a 25% increase in efficiency compared to the iPhone 15’s modem. It supports all low- and mid-band 5G frequencies but does not support mmWave signals, unlike the iPhone 16. Apple also promises up to 26 hours of video playback, thanks to the new internal design and the efficiency of the C1 modem.

Now, apart from the connectivity, take note that there is a lot of features at play here — smaller display and lower GPU core count, to name a few. However, it is essential to keep in mind that its connectivity features also impact battery life.

Apple Intelligence

Both the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16 are built for Apple Intelligence, offering features like Clean Up tool for photo editing and natural language search in the Photos app. These capabilities are powered by the A18 chip’s Neural Engine, ensuring privacy and performance.

I still consider this particular feature ‘incomplete’, as Apple has not yet rolled out Siri 2.0. Its over reliance to ChatGPT is a double-edged sword. It is helpful, if it works accurately; but Siri’s handoff to ChatGPT is still not as seamless as I wanted.

So, in essence, this is the most affordable iPhone that is compatible with Apple Intelligence. As of this writing, the iPhone 15 Pro costs PhP52,890 at Beyond the Box. The iPhone 16e is available for as low as PhP37,490.

Comparison vs iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro

Here’s a detailed comparison of the iPhone 16e with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro:

Special Offer at Beyond the Box

For those looking to get their hands on the iPhone 16e, Beyond the Box has an exciting offer. Until March 28, 2025, customers purchasing the iPhone 16e at Beyond the Box will receive a free Momax 1-Charge Flow 2-Port 35W GaN Charger USB-C and a Momax PINPOP Find My Tracker. This offer is available while supplies last, so it’s a great incentive to make your purchase sooner rather than later.

So, should you get the iPhone 16e?

Some people lined up to get the iPhone 16e. Upon asking, their main reason is that it’s the most affordable brand new iPhone that they can get at the moment. At one point, I totally get it because it is somewhat correct. Its design may not be for everyone. It’s overall performance is not as great as the iPhone 16, but it is the more affordable latest iPhone in the bunch.

However, it is worth nothing that anything new is not always the best, at least for my need. The iPhone 15 Pro is more expensive by PhP15,490 than the iPhone 16e. It is compatible with Apple Intelligence, better cameras, more core counts, albeit not the latest. If its more premium price is justifiable than getting the iPhone 16e, I would buy that instead. It isn’t the latest, but it’s better than the iPhone 16e because it suits my needs as a content creator. Some would decide otherwise, and it is fine, because their reasons are different from mine. If you’re having a buyer’s remorse now after reading this article, that only meant you picked the wrong phone.

The iPhone 16e stands out as a compelling choice for those looking for a balance between performance, features, and price. As mentioned earlier, while it might not have all the bells and whistles of the iPhone 16 or the Pro models, its A18 chip, impressive battery life, and capable camera system make it a formidable device in its own right. Whether you’re upgrading from an older model or entering the Apple ecosystem for the first time, the iPhone 16e offers a lot to love, especially with the added value of the free accessories from Beyond the Box.

Giancarlo Viterbo

Founder, Chief Editor, and Sales Lead at Gadget Pilipinas | Website

Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.